The Cougars had lost seven of their final 10 regular-season games. They had no chance of getting to the NCAA Tournament unless they won the league tournament championship.

Then they proceeded to win their first two games in the tournament and earn a berth in the C-USA championship game, a contest they led until the late innings before giving way to crosstown rival Rice in extra innings.

This year, the circumstances are similar, but the record more dire. Again, the Cougars lost seven of 10 going into the tournament. Again, they have no chance at an NCAA at-large berth. This season has been a nightmare, with the Cougars finishing in eighth place with a dismal 17-33-1 record.

Inconsistent play in all three phases (hitting, pitching, defense), a host of injuries and one of the country's toughest schedules has made it an uphill battle.

The Cougars are holding out hope they can catch lightning in a bottle once again and advance to the championship game in the C-USA Tournament, which begins Wednesday at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss.

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Cougars summary

Rival Rice first hurdle

What happened last season that fired up the Cougars?

"I think we caught some breaks and we played well," coach Todd Whitting said. "I tell the team all the time that it's not the matter of who is the best team, it's who plays the best.

"I think this team with where they're at mentally, it's nice to get the (regular) season over with and it's kind of refreshing."

The Cougars will see a familiar face in Rice (39-15), the top seed in the tournament and the fourth-ranked team in the country.

UH has been competitive with the Owls this season even though Rice took three of four games to take the Silver Glove. UH broke its 16-game losing streak to the Owls on May 4 and two of the Cougars' other losses to Rice have been by three runs or fewer.

When the teams met in the C-USA championship game last season, the Cougars led until the sixth inning before falling 4-3 in 10 innings.

"Probably one of the best weekends we've had all season is against Rice, so I think the team is going to have some confidence," Whitting said. " We've played really well against Rice going back to the championship game of the tournament last year. We have to get great starting pitching, great defense and a few timely hits or it doesn't matter who our opponent is."

The Cougars' two opponents after Rice won't be much easier.

UH dropped two of three games to its Thursday opponent, Southern Mississippi, and was swept by its Friday opponent, Memphis. Whitting will attempt to capture some magic by starting lefthander Jordan Lewis against Rice on Wednesday (Lewis went eight innings and gave up only three hits in a loss to Rice on May 5) and righthander Austin Pruitt on Thursday (Pruitt threw 62⁄3 innings in a win over Southern Miss in March).

Fresh start at 0-0

The chances of UH catching lightning again are slim, considering the Cougars have won two games in a three-game stretch just four times all season and twice since conference play began. But they have a chance, and that's all they can ask for now.

"This is what our season comes down to," senior catcher John Cannon said. "We've struggled coming in here, but it's a new season and everyone is 0-0 here."